A $1,000 scholarship was awarded to Lehigh University graduate student Gokalp Cetin. Working under the direction of Professor Wojciech Misiolek, Cetin’s research is focused on improving the wear performance of hot forging tooling via additive-manufactured coatings using Inconel 625/Titanium Carbide composites. He uses several methods to evaluate the coatings, including micro-hardness tests, Gleeble thermo-mechanical physical simulations and DEFORM numerical simulations.
Cetin and Misiolek are collaborating with American Axle & Manufacturing on a project supported by the Forging Industry Educational and Research Foundation. American Axle is a renowned forging industry leader ready to apply these coatings to some of its tooling. This partnership will not only validate the coatings’ performance in real-life applications but also underscore the research’s practical relevance. Cetin plans to incorporate tribology testing to
enhance the evaluation methods further, which will significantly improve the understanding of friction, lubrication and wear. Tribology testing will contribute significantly to developing more durable and efficient coatings for hot forging tooling. The testing will be done in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory in its state-of-the-art laboratories. Based on Cetin’s doctoral research, a presentation entitled “Forging Die Life Improvement via Selective Laser Melting of Inconel 625 Matrix Composite Coatings with Titanium Carbide Reinforcement” was accepted for presentation at the 33rd Forging Industry Technical Conference in September 2024.
Misiolek notes Cetin’s outstanding academic performance and unwavering commitment to his field, particularly in developing new materials for hot forging tooling. Cetin is cited as an example of a very ambitious student who is doing a lot to learn more and advance his career focused on additive manufacturing technologies.